Elbridge Gerry’s Monstrous Salamander

Gilbert Stuart's cartoon of a Massachusetts electoral district twisted into what came to be called the "Gerry-mander." Bettmann/Getty Images

Elbridge Gerry signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. Gerrymandering is the drawing of political districts to give a particular party or group an advantage or disadvantage, and it's named after him.

U.S. Census Bureau. “Historical Perspective: Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives.” https://www.census.gov/population/apportionment/about/history.html

Transcript of Voting Rights Act (1965). Via OurDocuments.gov, a project of National History Day, The National Archives and Records Administration, and USA Freedom Corps. https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=100&page=transcript

Barash, Emily. “The Twisted History of Gerrymandering in American Politics.” The Atlantic. 9/19/2012. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/the-twisted-history-of-gerrymandering-in-american-politics/262369/